so many European kings have sprung, took its name from
the rich district in the centre of France, called the
Bourbonnais, which in the 10th century was one of the
three great baronies of the kingdom. The first of the long
line of Bourbons known in history was Adhdmar or Aimar,
who was invested with the barony towards the close of the
9th century. In 1272 Beatrix, daughter of Agnes of
Bourbon and her husband John of Burgundy, married
Robert, count of Clermont, sixth son of Louis IX.
(St Louis) of France. The elder branches of the family
had become extinct, and their son Louis became due do
Bourbon in 1327. In 1488 the line of his descendants
ended with Jean II., who died in that year. The whole
estates passed to Jean s brother Pierre, lord of Beaujeu,
who was married to Anne, sister of Louis XI. Pierre died
in 1503, leaving only a daughter, Suzanne, who, in 1505,
married Charles de Montpensier, heir of the Montpensier
branch of the Bourbon family. Charles, who took the title
of due de Bourbon on his marriage, was born in 1489, and
at an early age was looked upon as one of the finest
soldiers and gentlemen in France. His union with Suzanne
made him the wealthiest and most powerful French noble ;
and after his brilliant successes in Italy and France, he
became an object of dread to Louis XII., who would not
give him the command of the army of Italy. In 1515
Francis I., on his accession, made Bourbon constable of
France, and in that capacity he gained new honours, and
was for a time in the highest favour with the king. But
serious differences soon arose between them, originating,
according to common report, in the violent but slighted
passion of Louise, duchesse d Angouleme, the king s mother,
for the constable. The grossest insults were heaped upon
Bourbon ; his official salary and the sums he had borrowed
for his war expenses remained unpaid ; in the campaign
against Charles V. the command of the vanguard was
given to the due d Alencon ; and after the death of Suz
anne de Bourbon, an action was raised by the queen
dowager, who claimed to be nearest heir. In defiance of
Bourbon s marriage-settlement, judgment was given against
him, and he was reduced to absolute beggary. Smarting
under these wrongs he entered into negotiations with
Charles V., and on these coming to the knowledge of
Francis at once fled from his native country and joined
the emperor. He did good service in the war against his
countrymen, and especially distinguished himself at tlie
battle of Pavia, where his ungenerous sovereign Francis
was taken prisoner. Bourbon, however, did not find
Charles very ready to fulfil his various promises, and
determined to seize a kingdom for himself. With the
division under his command ho penetrated into Italy, and
on the 5th May 1527 appeared before the walls of Rome.
In the assault on the following morning he was the first to
mount the walls, and fell mortally wounded by a pistol-
shot, fired, it is said, by Benvenuto Cellini. His army
succeeded in taking and sacking the town. With the con
stable ended the direct line from Pierre, due de Bourbon.
But the fourth in descent from Pierre s brother, Jacques,
Louis, count of Vendome and Chartres, became the ancestor
of the royal house of Bourbon and of the noble families
Conde", Conti, and Montpensier. The fourth in direct
descent from Louis of Vendome was Antoine de Bourbon,
who in 1548 married Jeanne d Albret, heiress of Navarre,
and who became king of Navarre in 1554. Their son
became king of France, with the title Henri IV. Henri
was succeeded by his son Louis XIII., who left two sons,
Louis XIV., and Philippe, due d Orleans, head of the
Orleans branch. Louis XIV. s son, the Dauphin, died
before his father, and left three sons, one of whom died
without issue. Of the others the elder, Louis of Burgundy,
died in 1712, and his only surviving son became Louis XV.
The younger, Philippe, duke of Anjou, became king of Spain,
and founded the Spanish branch of the Bourbon family.
Louis XV. was succeeded by his grandson, Louis XVI.,
who perished on the scaffold. At the restoration the
tlirono of France was occupied by Louis XVIII., brother of
Louis XVI., who in turn was succeeded by his brother
Charles X. The second son of Charles X., the due do
Berri, left a son, Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonnc"
d Artois, due de Bordeaux, and count de Chambord, who
is a claimant of the French throne, and is designated by
his adherents, Henri V, From Louis XIV. s brother, ​Philippe, has descended another claimant of the throne.
Philippe s son was the Regent Orleans, whose great grand
son, Philippe Egalite", perished on the scaffold in 1793.
Egalite"s son, Louis Philippe, was king of France from
1830 to 1848; his grandson, Louis Philippe (born 1838),
is the present Comte de Paris.

Spanish Branch.—Philippe, due d Anjou, grandson of
Louis XIV., became king of Spain as Philip V. in 1700.
He was succeeded in 1746 by his son Ferdinand VI., who
died in 1 759 without family, and was followed by his
brother Charles III. Charles III. s eldest son became
Charles IV. of Spain in 1788, while his second son, Fer
dinand, was made king of the Two Sicilies in 1759.
Charles IV. was deposed by Napoleon, but in 1814 his
son, Ferdinand VII., again obtained his throne. Ferdinand
was succeeded by his daughter Isabella, who in. 1870
abdicated in favour of her son Alphonso, at present (1876)
in possession of the Spanish kingdom. Ferdinand s brother,
Don Carlos (died 1855), claimed the throne in 1833 on the
ground of the Salic law, and a fierce war raged for some
years in the north of Spain. His son Don Carlos, count
do Montemolin (born 1818, died 1861) revived the claim,
but was defeated and compelled to sign a renunciation.
The nephew of the latter, Don Carlos Maria Juan Isidor
(born 1848), has been for some years carrying on war in
Spain with the object of attaining the rights contended for
by the Carlist party.

Neapolitan Branch.—The first Bourbon who wore the
crown of Naples was Charles III. of Spain, who on his
succession to the Spanish throne in 1759, resigned his
kingdom of Naples to his son Ferdinand. Ferdinand was
deposed by Napoleon, but afterwards regained his throne,
and took the title of Ferdinand I., king of the Two Sicilies.
In 1825 he was succeeded by his son Francis, who in turn
was succeeded in 1830 by his son Ferdinand II. Ferdinand
II. died in 1859, and in the following year his successor
Francis II. was deprived of his kingdom, which was in
corporated into the gradually-uniting Italy.

Duchies of Lucca and Parma.—In 1748 the duchy of
Parma was conferred on Philip, youngest son of Philip V.
of Spain. His grandson, Charles Louis Ferdinand, became
king of Etruria in 1801, but was deprived of his possessions
by the French. In 1847, however, he received the duchies
of Parma and Piacenza on the death of his mother, but
after two years abdicated in favour of his son, Charles III.
Charles III. married the daughter of the due de Berri, and
was assassinated in 1854. His son was proclaimed duke,
but the territories of Parma and Piacenza were seized by
Victor Enmnuel in 1859-60.